Post 366 racks up ninth straight win years ago
Hillsboro ends regular season with 9-3 win over Halstead
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Maybe Halstead should have used its pent-up frustrations for the field before Thursday's game. It might have come in pretty handy and possibly made the first game against hosting Hillsboro American Legion Post 366 a little more competitive. However, it's doubtful any of the Post 366 players complained about it.
After all, by beating Halstead 9-3, 366 (14-9) ends the regular season red hot, riding the crest of a nine game winning streak into post-season.
It was evident Halstead was on the verge of breaking — when — was the real question. It happened between games when Halstead players' tempers flared and a fight broke out amongst teammates.
After being separated by Halstead parents and coaches, umpires canceled the second game and the Halstead coach sent the players home.
While Halstead broke loose between games, shorthanded 366 wasted little time breaking loose in its half of the first inning of the first game.
Hillsboro gave Halstead a 1-0 lift with a wild throw to third, but it made up for the mistake, erupting for seven runs from a trio of hits.
Halstead's coming apart all started when Jimmy Shipman scored the freshly returned Shawn Hughbanks and Mitch Enos with a one-out single.
Shipman scored on a throwing error and made it a 3-1 before Michael Bookless drove in Clayton for the 4-1 lead.
With Chad Hughbanks and Bookless on board, Tyson Heidebrecht emptied the bases with a single, pushing 366's lead to 6-1.
Halstead committed a pair of costly errors in the bottom of the first. Hillsboro took advantage of another one to increase the bulge to 7-1.
While the 366 offense made it a long, woeful night for Halstead, Chad Hughbanks dealt his share of frustration to Halstead on the pitcher's mound.
All 366 coach Lyman Adams wanted from Chad Hughbanks was four good innings. He certainly got it with Chad firing a one-hitter and fanning four in five innings for the win.
If Hillsboro is to advance past the double elimination Council Grove regionals, 366 will have to make better use of scoring opportunities.
Post 366 had numerous opportunities to put Halstead away by the fifth inning, leaving the bases chucked twice. Sadly, 366 only got a lone run from having many chances to manufacture them.
Enos made it an 8-1 game in the bottom of the fourth, driving in Shawn Hughbanks with a base-hit.
Hillsboro capped off its scoring entirety in its half of the fifth.
The first opportunity knocked when the bases were loaded for Bookless with no outs in the fifth.
Bookless went down swinging and Garnica got gunned down at third before Chad Hughbanks could come home via a Halstead throwing error.
Halstead cut the lead to 9-2 in the sixth with Bookless on the mound on a RBI single. Hillsboro shunned another bases-loaded situation in the sixth.
Halstead made for the 9-3 final in the seventh, taking advantage of another throwing error and Adam Scheele closing on the mound. Scheele retired the next three batters to preserve the win.
Halstead probably got all it cares to see of 366.
The two faced off two nights earlier in Halstead with Hillsboro making it seven games in a row with a 17-5 bombing and a 15-13 escape.
In his first at-bat in four weeks, Shawn Hughbanks went deep for a two-run blast to start the slugfest for 366.
Shipman and Shawn Hughbanks each went long twice with Shipman tossing a two-hitter for the win.
The second game saw 366 rally after being down 6-2 to the home team.
Shipman left the yard for the third time on the night as part of Hillsboro's eight-run seventh outburst to help save its seventh straight win.
Halstead made it scary, scoring four runs down to its last three outs against Enos.
